Workshop will help Virgin Islanders find jobs around the world without leaving V.I.

ConnectSpace.vi is looking for Virgin Islanders to participate in a series of free training workshops to learn how to take advantage of online job opportunities. The St. Croix workshop is already full, but 40 slots remain open for the St. Thomas workshop, which will be March 21 at the University of the Virgin Islands.About 3 million "teleworking" jobs are available, yet many people are struggling to find employment, according to ConnectSpace.vi Program Coordinator Alexis George. "There is a gap, that we call the digital divide, a disconnect that has many Americans in situations of unemployment. By bridging the digital divide we can begin providing much needed jobs to the Virgin Islands," George said. He said many jobs are being outsourced because of a lack of skilled, technologically knowledgeable workforce. With millions of dollars of federal stimulus funding coming into the territory to build a fiber-optic broadband network, high speed Internet soon will be widely available to all Virgin Islanders, he said."We stand at an opportune time for the Virgin Islands to reinvent ourselves," George said.Under the $3.6 million federal Sustainable Broadband Adoption grant, the V.I. Next Generation Network has awarded BetterWorld Telecom, doing business as ConnectSpace.vi, a $1 million contract to operate two hubs in the territory and provide free job training and job placement for people interested in doing online contract work. The St. Croix hub already has opened in Frederiksted. The St. Thomas hub is scheduled to open soon in Havensight, according to the V.I. Next Generation Network.ConnectSpace.vi has been working closely with the V.I. Labor Department to offer information sessions about telework opportunities that allow people to get contract work in a wide range of fields and work from home, a public computer center or the ConnectSpace VI hub. The types of jobs available include virtual assistant; technical support; data entry; medical transcription; interpreter; and design work.The workshops taking place next week will be geared toward those with a serious interest in getting online contract work. "This is designed to go in a little bit deeper and provide far more insight," George said.Work from home expert Christine Durst will lead next week's training sessions. Durst is co-founder of Staffcentrix, the staffing company that owns and manages RatRaceRebellion.com. She is a syndicated columnist and the co-author of two books on home-based careers, "The 2-Second Commute" and "Work at Home Now." "She's the expert, so she knows exactly what companies are looking for," George said. "She will be able to provide dos and don'ts on how to go about getting work."He said the workshops are at UVI in each district in an effort to attract UVI students and recent UVI alums. In addition to the two training workshops open to the public, ConnectSpace.vi will offer a "train the trainer" workshop in each district for government or community organization employees who then can share that knowledge with others. He said 10 slots are available in each district for the "train the trainer" workshops.聽For more information or to register for a workshop, send an email to yali@connectspacevi.com. - Contact Aldeth Lewin at 714-9111 or email alewin@dailynews.vi.